With the lack of animals and crops that can grow in the cold climate of Iceland, we knew we would be exploring some new cuisine during our stay. Everything from their traditional breakfast, meats and unique liquor were going to be new to our taste buds and it did not disappoint.When we landed in Iceland we had just enough time to grab breakfast before our first tour. ---I want to stop right here and just add a disclaimer. This entire trip was packed full of activities and adventure. There were days that we didn't have time for food or we were out driving around the countryside and snacking on Clif Bars to keep us full until we got back in the city. Out of the 5 days there, we only had b-fast, lunch, AND dinner on 2 days! Sorry in advance if this list seems short.---Ok, back to our first breakfast in Iceland. We headed up to the sky lounge in our hotel and instantly realized cereal and bagels were not an option! Laid out in front of us were trays of cold cut meats, cheeses, cracker-like pieces of toast, caviar, sliced hard boiled eggs and tomatoes. Everything you need to make the traditional Scandinavian breakfast crostinis. Other than that, there were scrambled eggs, some loaves of bread, and a large array of fresh fruit. And this was standard! On our last morning in Iceland, we went to the Kex Hostel with a well known restaurant and ended up eating the exact same thing our hotel was offering us. Other than going to a coffee house or an American restaurant, the crostini caviar sandwich was pretty much it. For lunch, we enjoyed some fish and chips at an adorable organic bistro called Icelandic Fish & Chips (it felt like everything in Iceland had pretty generic names which made it difficult to keep it all straight) just a few blocks from our hotel. They had 4 different fish to pick from and then several dipping sauces that they would recommend depending on fish selection. It was delicious!!! When we were exploring the city with friends, we recommended Laundromat Café (thanks Pinterest) which ended up being a lunch spot with all day American breakfast. It is an actual laundry mat on the bottom level and a bar/restaurant on the main floor. This place was adorable and super crowded! We were fortunate that a couple smaller parties moved to high top tables and allowed us the communal table so our party of 9 could sit together. This was the kindness we received the entire time we were in Iceland! As for dinners, we made it to two wonderful dinner spots in Iceland, a tapas restaurant called tapas barinn and a seafood spot in the heart of town called sjavargrillid. Tapas Barinn was an amazing experience. We were able to sample a bunch of local delicacies as well as their local liquor called brennivín. We were definitely surrounded by locals partaking in dinner with friends and family. It was really cool to be apart of such a local scene. Sjavargrillid was all seafood. I was able to try Langoustine, Scandinavia's Shrimp, for the first time and it was so delicious. We went with the whole group and everyone seemed pretty happy with their dishes. Dessert there was also quiet good. Speaking of dessert, after our tour group meeting on the first night, a small group of us went out to find some sweets. We strolled down the main drag in Reykjavik and decided to stop at a café that had a pretty impressive bake case serving up coffee, espresso, pastries, and pies. Chase and I decided to order hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate cake. To this day, it is still the best hot cup of cocoa that we've ever had! I wish I could remember the name of the café. Two disappointments: We learned quickly that Iceland has a crazy tax on liquor. And I mean crazy! We went for drinks before dinner one night and discovered the price for liquor was more than we ever thought it could be. For three cocktails, a single shot of Brennivín and a bottle of sparkling water, we left with $70 less in our wallets and that's without tip because it's customary not to tip in Iceland. That was pretty eye opening. The second thing that we were disappointed about was the world famous hot dog that President Bill Clinton put on the map when he took a trip there back during his years in office. We had read articles and blog posts about how this hot dog was life changing. We had it... Definitely NOT life changing! But to be disappointed by a hot dog doesn't seem like a far stretch!
Until Next Time, C + D
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorChase & Dani here, providing Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|